As the three-time National champion in men’s air rifle, Ravi Kumar is the undisputed No.1 in the country. After the phenomenal success of former World and Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang, Indian men’s air rifle is not making as impressive a mark on the world stage.
Deepak Kumar did win the Asian Games silver in Palembang to arrest the widening gap with the past, but Ravi Kumar missed a medal and placed fourth.
In the World Championship in Changwon, Ravi Kumar placed 28th with a score of 625.4. He had set hopes high by placing third and fourth in the two World Cups in Guadalajara and Changwon earlier in the season, when his score went up to 629.1.
“I had high hopes in the World Championship, but could not live up to it. Rising to the challenge in a tough situation is the job of the athlete. The season has been good overall,” said Ravi, after performing well in the two selection trials, to retain his No.1 status.
He had trouble with his equipment in the World Championship, and Ravi has been busy getting used to the new apparel. He has, in fact, opted to compete in Germany and the Netherlands, so as to give himself more experience with the new equipment before the World Cup at home in Delhi in February, that offers the next set of quota places for Tokyo.
The 27-year-old Junior Warrant Officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) was vehement in emphasising the remarkable coaching and mental support from Manoj Kumar over the years, as much as the moral and technical support from Abhinav Bindra, whose High Performance Centre in Chandigarh has helped many an athlete regain best physical shape for optimum performance.
Overall, he is happy with the way the standard has been set, even though he gets to see the young shooters like Divyansh Singh Panwar overtake him both in qualification and finals.
“The scores are improving among our shooters. I am giving them a tough ground to fight. Defending the national title the second time was a great experience, and a good sign for my future,” said Ravi about his triumph in Kerala.
The major pursuit is the quota place for Tokyo 2020. “I hope to win the quota as early as possible. I am gearing for it. Rest, the day will decide,” he said.
